Portland firefighter travels to areas hit by Sandy

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Victims of Hurricane Sandy are getting help from all over the country, including here in Maine.

Lieutenant Chris Tillotson of the Portland Fire Department is part of an urban search and rescue team -- Massachusetts Task Force 1.
They spent time checking on people from Rockaway, Queens to Staten Island last week. He says the devastation is exactly what you see on TV, but it's hard to explain how it feels to see it first-hand.

"You can sit here and think 'Wow, that's some devastation.' But until you see it first hand, that's when it sinks in," he said.

Tillotson also says Mainers should realize that this kind of thing can happen anywhere, and it's important to be prepared. "How can you not feel for these people?" Tillotson said. "It really touches home when you think about that. How could we handle something like that, or will be able to handle something like that if it's coming?"